Morris Mole - Dan Yaccarino Morris is a nerdy mole who wears a suit and a dapper hat and carries an umbrella. His brothers all wear hardhats. There isMorris Mole - Dan Yaccarino Morris is a nerdy mole who wears a suit and a dapper hat and carries an umbrella. His brothers all wear hardhats. There is a crisis. And then unexpected turns of events. Nerds for the win!Library copy

The Unexpected Love Story of Alfred Fiddleduckling - Timothy Basil Ering Just so lovely. Lots of children's books have magic in them, and many have tThe Unexpected Love Story of Alfred Fiddleduckling - Timothy Basil Ering Just so lovely. Lots of children's books have magic in them, and many have talking, clothes-wearing animals of all species hanging out together like it's no big. But this one actually feels magical, full of awe and wonder at fairly mundane events. And so pretty.Library copy...more

I don’t understand why anyone is reluctant to acknowledge that animals share some characteristics, behaviors, and susceptibilities, across species linI don’t understand why anyone is reluctant to acknowledge that animals share some characteristics, behaviors, and susceptibilities, across species lines. Of course, one of the local colleges has recently started a huge cross-species cancer effort, working to save dogs and also maybe humans. Library copy....more

Pet Show! - Ezra Jack Keats There aren't nearly enough books showing the lives of working-class kids in the US. There are even fewer that show peoplePet Show! - Ezra Jack Keats There aren't nearly enough books showing the lives of working-class kids in the US. There are even fewer that show people making an effort to improve the lives of others as anything other than an individual act of kindness. Bring back the red-diaper babies! Bring back the goal of social justice! I want to see people striving for equality again.Library copy...more

Miniatures: The Very Short Fiction of John Scalzi I'm hoping that this id the gateway book for the rest of the family. So far I haven't talked two ofMiniatures: The Very Short Fiction of John Scalzi I'm hoping that this id the gateway book for the rest of the family. So far I haven't talked two of them into anything, and the one who's enjoyed the hell out of Your Hatemail Will Be Graded, hasn't bestirred herself to sample the fiction. Of course she could find the time to read Handmaid's Tale a third time in preparation for for her exam, but does Agent to the Stars get even a cursory glance? I really thought the daughters would go for Zoe's Tale or Fuzzy Nation, but not a nibble. Big sigh.library copy...more

Demonstrating once again that it is possible to have too much of a good thing, assuming you consider moose to be a good thing. Which they are, appare Demonstrating once again that it is possible to have too much of a good thing, assuming you consider moose to be a good thing. Which they are, apparently: they make charming friends and they prepare delicious treats. Moose walking around on their hind legs doing things, anything, really, is adorable.

Almost unbearably cute. Look closely at that cover. That is a fat, happy fox. That is a fox with a good stick. Please look at this book. No one would,Almost unbearably cute. Look closely at that cover. That is a fat, happy fox. That is a fox with a good stick. Please look at this book. No one would, at home, even though I begged.

The book operates on several different levels. On the one hand, it is a modern recreation (more or less) of Travels With Charlie: just a guy and his dThe book operates on several different levels. On the one hand, it is a modern recreation (more or less) of Travels With Charlie: just a guy and his dog going off to see America. And then there's the places they go and the people they meet and I knew dogs were popular in the US, but I had no idea they were THAT popular. And then there's this whole inner journey of the author, with bits about his family, and his friends, and his relationship with his dog which is disappointing because he wanted a more devoted sort of dog than he got in Casey (One advantage of cats is that it's easier to keep getting new ones until you get the sort of personality you're looking for). I';m not really a dog person, but Denizet-Lewis could change my mind.

I've never had a book with flocking on the cover before. I love it. I hope on the next edition they extend the flocking to the cheeks, bIt's flocked!

I've never had a book with flocking on the cover before. I love it. I hope on the next edition they extend the flocking to the cheeks, because I have never stopped enjoying Pat the Bunny.

This was a gift from my beloved husband who is, after twenty-three years of marriage, finally comfortable giving me books. (His secret is cartoons and comics, which I rarely buy for myself but always love and re-read.) Right now, he tells me, most of his favorite web comics are created by women. He only recently started sharing Sarah's Scribbles with me, but I am so there.

Natasha and I sat side-by-side at the kitchen table, reading together. Apparently I read more slowly than she...nope, I'm sure it's just that I take longer to look at the pictures. We laughed at all the same things. Pretty much all of it feels like it could be about me, except the stuff that is obviously about a younger woman in Brooklyn. But all the introversion, and bed, and books, and critters? Yeah.

There have been such entertaining daydreams since Walter Mitty. This is never going to be my favorite Babymouse story because I don't like sports in gThere have been such entertaining daydreams since Walter Mitty. This is never going to be my favorite Babymouse story because I don't like sports in general, but the swim team and the effort and comradery of any sort of team is depicted well. And the literary bent of Babymouse's daydreams prevents the stories from seeming too lesson-y.

Fluffy Strikes Back (A P.U.R.S.T. Adventure) - Spires, Ashley I'm so excited to read this! Thank you, Kids Can Press.And also, thanks from my high schFluffy Strikes Back (A P.U.R.S.T. Adventure) - Spires, Ashley I'm so excited to read this! Thank you, Kids Can Press.And also, thanks from my high school freshmore, who adores Spires' cats as much as I do.Fluffy Vandermere looks like the cat a Bond villain would be holding. But Fluffy isn't a pet: he's the head of a secret agency protecting earth from aliens. Thankfully, he hasn't lost his old skills in his time as an administrator, and he still has what it takes to save his headquarters from an invasion.I'm giggling the whole time I'm typing this, because it is such an amusing parody of the genre, I can totally imagine Sean Connery providing the voice saying "Meow". You know what I've discovered? I don't mind potty humor when it's about cats: sandbox jokes are just fine. It's wonderfully goofy and the cats take themselves very seriously, and if Spires could write a million stories, I'd try to read every single one.

[I've gotten behind in my reviews, and I was having a hard time convincing myself to write the next one in order, so screw that, I just moved on to th[I've gotten behind in my reviews, and I was having a hard time convincing myself to write the next one in order, so screw that, I just moved on to the one I wanted to write about at the moment, and I may or may not ever succeed at filling in the gaps. But because I'm so behind, and taking a leave from work, I'm going to try to get all caught up, which means I may well be clogging up your feed for which I am sorry.]

This is exactly the sort of book I want to read by any sort of famous person. Many a biography/memoir by many an admired person has lead to disappointment, betrayal, and heartbreak. I had to quit reading Elvis Costello's book not because it jumped around, nor because it had too much about playing and recording music, nor even because I had to look him up on Wiki to get the basics facts of his life in my mind. No, what I couldn't bear was learning that he has a scene in mind, or a mood, and he comes up with a line or two, and then he hangs on to those lines until he finds an appropriate place to use them. It's all very good for Oscar Wilde to write and rewrite his best quips, they are jokes, they don't have to have continuity. But song lyrics? I loved Costello's lyrics, although I have always found it hard to remember more than two lines together. Now I know why. Sigh. I still love Costello, but I knew that I really didn't want to read any more of his book, because I could only bear so much of that sort of revelation.

No, what I want from a famous person's book is a series of amusing or fascinating anecdotes, demonstrating both the delights and the peculiar pains of their work. Really, I want to sit in my living room, just me, and Graham Norton, and John Cleese, and I want this very amusing man to be lead into telling me all his most amusing stories. And I want to see pictures of his cats.

This particular book ends quite early in Cleese's life, before Monty Python, although he does explain how that comes to be. This is school, mostly, and how he came to be studying law, and what it was like for him to be a teacher at the school he had attended only a few years earlier. That sort of thing. How supportive his father always was, how odd and difficult his mother could be. Really, about as much as I want to know about a stranger: what he cares about, what gives him joy, what he likes to do with his friends, some of what he's learned over the years about writing comedy. Lemurs. You know, casual small talk sort of stuff. With the occasional aside acknowledging some of the widespread prejudices of the times, and how much better life is for at least some people now because we've stopped that.

I've got two more reviews in this vein to come: Gloria Steinem and Illeana Douglas. I'll tell you now, so you can skip the reviews and go straight to the books. They're both exactly this kind of thing: amusing and interesting tales of people doing what they enjoy. Best enjoyed with cocktails and cigarettes, even if one neither drinks nor smokes, it's just the right mood.

There are many witch stories out there, but many of them, I'm sorry to say, do not have happy endings. This is a book with a happy ending, suitable foThere are many witch stories out there, but many of them, I'm sorry to say, do not have happy endings. This is a book with a happy ending, suitable for fans of Charmed and Bewitched. This is also a book I gave myself for my birthday; I've decided to only buy books that make me feel good and/or laugh in delight.

The title kitty isn't the bland pet her woman thinks. This cat has worked out a scheme with a friend that allows her to get out whenever she likes, inThe title kitty isn't the bland pet her woman thinks. This cat has worked out a scheme with a friend that allows her to get out whenever she likes, in order to get into trouble. Trouble being a gun and a rather smart tweed hunting suit.

I was prepared to find the art jarring, because Blake isn't particularly similar to Potter, but it worked beautifully. Successful find on all counts. I wish there would be more.

Loved the water color art and the feeling of motion Appelhans brought to the illustrations. What can I say? I'd been meaning to read it because I likeLoved the water color art and the feeling of motion Appelhans brought to the illustrations. What can I say? I'd been meaning to read it because I like Jenkins' work consistently, but to spot it on Groundhog Day? It was meant to be. And so pretty and frenetic.

A homeless street can narrates the 're of finding a family and a friend for his new pet human. The anime style of "the look" that elicits good from huA homeless street can narrates the 're of finding a family and a friend for his new pet human. The anime style of "the look" that elicits good from humans is worth it, all in its own.

Some days one can't help hating humanity. On those days I strongly recommend this book full of well-verified stories about various non-humans who demoSome days one can't help hating humanity. On those days I strongly recommend this book full of well-verified stories about various non-humans who demonstrate empathy and creativity and save the lives of humans, whether the humans deserve it or not. That many of these fabulous critters are either wild or rescued just makes the whole thing that much better. Also, I like the illustrations. And I really like that Campbell never overstates the case for what the critters in question may have been thinking or feeling. He just reports the facts. Facts which make it abundantly clear that all social animals share an inclination to help, even at great personal risk, regardless of the species in trouble.

The most positive and affirming book I've read this year. These animals make me want to be a better human.